I am the Estate Representative. What are the first steps?
Your loved one passed and you find yourself the estate representative, I know you want someone to tell you what to do next. Here is the blog that is going to do just that. Take a deep breath, calm your mind. What is an estate representative? It depends upon whether or not there is a…
Read MoreGonzalez v Department of Health Care Services: What is a special needs trust?
Gonzalez v Department of Health Care Services is the latest opinion published by the California Courts of Appeal about a special needs trust. And, yes, that is how you say it. Let me tell you a little bit about a special needs trust, then we will get into the case. What is a special needs…
Read MoreBritney Spears Conservatorship: Conservatorships, Pt. 3
As promised, here is part 3 of our conservatorship series. This time we do a little digging into the Britney Spears conservatorship case. If you want to catch up you can start with Conservatorships, Pt. 1 and Conservatorships, Pt. 2. For the most part we have focused on the use of conservatorships when we have…
Read MoreAvoiding Probate: Your How To Guide
You know avoiding probate is what you want. You may not even know why you want it but you know you do. Some of you are probably asking, what is probate and why would we want to be avoiding probate? Probate is a process of law that deals with a will after a person dies.…
Read MoreConservatorships, Pt. 2: Types of Conservators and what they do
If you are not up to date on conservatorships, you might want to start off our primer in Part 1, a general overview of what conservatorships are all about. Here, I will dig a little deeper into the roles of conservators. What are the types of Conservators in California Probate Court? Thank you for asking.…
Read MoreDudek v. Dudek: What’s in a trust?
Dudek v. Dudek is a case that boils down to the creation of a trust. This is the story. One brother, JD, took out a life insurance policy and at the same time created an irrevocable trust with the only assets being the policy and $100. He made David, another Dudek brother, the trustee and…
Read MoreConservatorships Pt. 1: Do we need to consider this for mom?
So, mom seems to be okay. Then, you find out that she is not okay…You step in and realize you may need to consider a conservatorship.
Read MoreTrolan v. Trolan: Sibling Trust Distribution
Trolan v. Trolan sheds light on a not so uncommon situation involving siblings and trust distributions. Lets get into the facts to see if Trolan v. Trolan is a case you need to be aware of. Dad and Mom are parents to 6 lovely children. In 1974, they do the right thing and execute a…
Read MoreWhat Happens if I Die Intestate, without a will?
If you die intestate, it means that you die without a will. If you live in California, you will want to pay attention because your heirs will be dealing with the laws of intestate succession in California. Before I go any further, I have to say that this is not the preferred way of dying,…
Read MoreOrange Catholic Foundation v. Arvizu: What about a trustee acting in good faith?
I am going to tell you the moral of Orange Catholic Foundation v. Arvizu up front: If a trustee acts in good faith, like in Arvizu, the court can excuse them from liability Arvizu is about a trust created in 1997 by Josephine. When she died, her financially unsophisticated niece, Rosie, became the trustee. Despite…
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